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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. branch — a division
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rush — hurry
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. face — to confront
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — a container
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bear — the animal

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