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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: hand · key · bark · march · face · court · row · cell

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — of a king
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of law
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cell — in biology
  9. hand — help
  10. cell — a phone
  11. march — music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. march — the month
  15. row — a line
  16. court — for sport
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. face — to confront
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. face — to point toward

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