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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. file — a tool
  4. march — the month
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lean — thin
  7. branch — a division
  8. march — music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. file — a document
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — the month
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. root — of a plant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a line of people
  19. root — the cause
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. root — of a word
  24. lean — to bend

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