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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. track — a song
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. face — to confront
  5. game — a match
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — music
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mate — a friend
  15. branch — a division
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mate — a partner
  21. face — to point toward
  22. track — a path
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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