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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. march — the month
  5. board — to get on
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — the month
  13. board — a committee
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. foot — a measure
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bark — to shout
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. clip — a video
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. march — music
  24. wax — in the ear

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