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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. row — to paddle
  3. net — after costs
  4. court — of law
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bark — to shout
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. face — part of the head
  10. net — in sport
  11. pound — a weight
  12. staff — employees
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. row — a line
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. net — for catching
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. face — to confront
  20. staff — a stick
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. plane — in geometry

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