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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: deal · face · wind · cell · bore · swing · coach · branch

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. swing — in golf
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. face — part of the head
  6. swing — to play on
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bore — to tire
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bore — to drill
  15. face — to point toward
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. branch — a division
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cell — in biology
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wind — moving air

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