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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — help
  5. face — to confront
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in biology
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mark — a trace
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — to shout
  15. row — to paddle
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a line
  21. mark — a grade
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. scale — in music
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com