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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — a division
  7. face — part of the head
  8. object — an aim
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. wake — a trail
  17. row — a line
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bass — the fish
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. face — to point toward
  24. row — to paddle

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