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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. face — to point toward
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. branch — a division
  9. stem — to come from
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. snap — to click
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. face — part of the head
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lean — thin
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. face — to confront
  21. lean — to bend
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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