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

Word bank: ball · face · hand · prune · rule · chair · pitcher · bark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. chair — a leader
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ball — a great time
  5. face — to confront
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bark — to shout
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. hand — help
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ball — a dance
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. face — to point toward

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