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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. kid — child
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ground — the earth
  6. firm — steady
  7. kid — to tease
  8. face — part of the head
  9. scale — in music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. ground — crushed
  15. firm — decided
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. scale — size or range
  20. saw — the tool
  21. ground — a position
  22. bark — to shout
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. plane — a tool

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