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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: rest · face · branch · wax · field · chip · season · cell

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cell — a phone
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. face — to point toward
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. field — farmland
  19. wax — to grow
  20. face — to confront
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. field — for sport

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