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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: branch · shower · straw · face · fall · lie · swing · bark

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lie — to recline
  4. swing — to play on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. face — to point toward
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fall — the season
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. swing — music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lie — an untruth

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