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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. stand — on your feet
  2. face — to point toward
  3. land — ground
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. branch — a division
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — to come down
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — low music
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wake — a trail
  18. face — to confront
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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