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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. face — to confront
  3. staff — employees
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — the month
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. tube — the underground
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fork — in a road
  10. face — part of the head
  11. roll — a list
  12. staff — employees
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. tube — a container
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. game — a match
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. staff — a stick

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