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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. face — to confront
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — rain
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. snap — to click
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. stock — goods
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cell — in biology

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