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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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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bound — tied together
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. face — part of the head
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — child
  20. bound — certain
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stem — of a plant

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