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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. net — after costs
  3. bank — for money
  4. file — a tool
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. face — to confront
  9. file — a line of people
  10. net — in sport
  11. file — a document
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bank — of a river
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pop — music
  16. bank — for money
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pop — soda
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. face — to point toward
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. net — for catching
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — part of the head

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