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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: cold · saw · row · branch · face · mate · suit · file

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. saw — the tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. suit — to fit
  6. face — to confront
  7. file — a document
  8. suit — in cards
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mate — a partner
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — a line
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mate — to breed
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. face — to point toward
  22. suit — clothes
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. mate — a friend

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