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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. firm — steady
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. firm — a company
  9. branch — a division
  10. pop — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pop — to visit
  14. present — the time now
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pop — soda
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. firm — decided
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. face — part of the head
  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