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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: court · nail · field · clip · dip · face · lie · bark

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. field — for sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — to cut
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. field — farmland
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. court — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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