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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: kick · scale · cold · branch · bark · face · suit · lean

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. suit — to fit
  3. bark — to shout
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. face — to confront
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — thin
  11. face — part of the head
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. scale — in music
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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