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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 bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — shares
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. face — to confront
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stock — goods
  18. rule — government
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. branch — a division
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. root — the cause

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