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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tube — the underground
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — the season
  9. hand — in cards
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tube — a container
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. hand — help
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. root — of a word
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. branch — a division
  23. staff — employees
  24. face — to confront

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