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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. branch — a division
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. face — part of the head
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cold — not warm
  18. game — a match
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. face — to point toward
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pitch — a sports field

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