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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 · date · face · board · hand · deal · bulb · bark

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. board — a committee
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. face — part of the head
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. board — to get on
  12. court — of a king
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — for sport
  17. hand — help
  18. court — of law
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bark — to shout
  22. date — the fruit
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. bulb — of a plant

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