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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. drill — the tool
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. drill — a practice
  6. face — to point toward
  7. land — ground
  8. face — to confront
  9. object — an aim
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. object — a thing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — a division
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. sharp — clever
  18. face — part of the head
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — a country
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. drill — army training
  23. field — for sport
  24. object — to protest

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