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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 120 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — of water
  9. chest — of your body
  10. root — the cause
  11. spring — the season
  12. root — of a word
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chest — a box
  15. fall — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. root — of a plant
  22. face — part of the head
  23. row — a line
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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