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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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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: face · bear · pop · hand · net · field · date · bowl

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. date — the fruit
  3. field — a subject
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. net — in sport
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — for catching
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bear — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. face — to point toward
  20. field — farmland
  21. hand — help
  22. bear — the animal
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — part of the body

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