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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. face — to confront
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. branch — a division
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mate — to breed
  11. stock — shares
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stock — goods
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. face — part of the head

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