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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: pop · bark · chair · rush · nail · field · face · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. face — to confront
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. field — for sport
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chair — a leader
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pop — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pop — to visit
  19. face — part of the head
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pop — soda
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — to sit on

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