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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. face — to point toward
  6. ground — a position
  7. pop — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pop — soda
  11. face — to confront
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. scale — in music
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. clip — to cut
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. face — part of the head
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. scale — for weighing

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