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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cap — a lid
  4. row — a line
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — of ice
  8. face — part of the head
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — a division
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. face — to confront
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wake — a trail
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cap — a hat
  21. lean — to bend
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — the earth
  24. lean — thin

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