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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · chair · face · branch · march · mine · rash · wake

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. march — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. face — to point toward
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. face — part of the head
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. present — there
  16. face — to confront
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. present — the time now

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