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

Word bank: last · pop · rest · pound · face · branch · bat · stand

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. last — final
  3. face — to confront
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stand — to bear
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. branch — a division
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. rest — a break
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rest — what's left
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pop — soda
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — to go on
  24. face — to point toward

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