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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 116 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. face — to confront
  3. lie — to recline
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. bulb — for light
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — after costs
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — music
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. lie — an untruth

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