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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. root — of a word
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. saw — the tool
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — the cause
  13. shower — to wash
  14. game — wild animals
  15. shower — rain
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. row — a line
  20. face — to point toward
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. root — of a plant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — a match

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