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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. season — in sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cue — a signal
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — for pool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hand — help
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cell — in biology
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — in cards
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cell — in a prison

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