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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ball — a dance
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. branch — a division
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bound — certain

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