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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 124 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pop — music
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. face — to confront
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bark — to shout
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. deal — to handle
  23. swing — music
  24. deal — an agreement

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