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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. face — to point toward
  3. row — to paddle
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. face — to confront
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. last — to go on
  8. dip — to sink
  9. row — a line
  10. lie — to recline
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. face — part of the head
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. last — finally
  16. cell — in biology
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — a division
  20. last — final
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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