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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · can · face · rule · bark · branch

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. face — to confront
  3. can — to be able to
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — part of the head
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bark — to shout
  9. face — to point toward
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rule — a law
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. branch — a division
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. can — a tin
  18. fork — in a road

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