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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: bear · bark · straw · plane · present · pop · face · rest

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pop — to visit
  5. plane — a tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rest — what's left
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. face — to confront
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pop — music
  14. rest — what's left
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. present — there
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rest — a break
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bark — of a tree

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