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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hand — help
  5. face — part of the head
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — for sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — a division
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. ball — a great time
  19. face — to confront
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — army training
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mine — for digging

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