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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 120 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: face · rule · cue · branch · saw · current · kid · wound

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. kid — child
  3. cue — a signal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. face — to confront
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. face — to point toward
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cue — a hint
  18. current — happening now
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. current — electric
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cue — for pool
  24. current — of water

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