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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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Word bank
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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. drill — army training
  3. face — to confront
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. present — a gift
  9. date — the fruit
  10. ground — the earth
  11. face — part of the head
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. key — for a lock
  14. present — the time now
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. saw — the tool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — a practice
  20. ground — a position
  21. present — there
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. drill — the tool

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