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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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Word bank
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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: pop · bear · row · hand · mark · face · staff · court

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. hand — help
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a line
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pop — music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — to confront
  20. pop — soda
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bear — the animal
  24. court — for sport

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