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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 124 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chest — of your body
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to confront
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. row — to paddle
  11. face — part of the head
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — a match
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — a line

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