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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — after costs
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. march — the month
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. file — a document
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. chip — to eat
  12. file — a tool
  13. march — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chip — for betting
  17. march — the month
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lean — to bend
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. net — in sport
  22. lean — thin
  23. face — part of the head
  24. season — of the year

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