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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 · roll · rash · chest · face · kick · last · branch

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. face — to confront
  3. rash — a series
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rash — hasty
  6. face — part of the head
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. last — finally
  9. branch — a division
  10. last — to go on
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. roll — a cake
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kick — in football
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fork — in a road
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. chest — a box
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. face — to point toward
  23. chest — of your body
  24. roll — a list

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