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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 · season · cell · march · row · track · drill · face

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. face — to point toward
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. track — to keep track
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — a division
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — the month
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cell — a phone
  11. march — music
  12. row — to paddle
  13. drill — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. season — of the year
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. drill — a practice
  20. track — a song
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. track — a path
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. march — the month

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