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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: roll · march · bark · mark · face · can · cold · plane

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. plane — a tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. march — the month
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a cake
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — a tin
  19. face — to confront
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. can — a tin
  22. march — music
  23. roll — a list
  24. mark — a trace

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