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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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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — an illness
  3. can — a tin
  4. date — the fruit
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. swing — to play on
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. branch — a division
  10. board — a committee
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. can — to be able to
  15. board — to get on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to point toward
  19. swing — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. face — to confront
  24. pitcher — a jug

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