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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 120 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: face · drill · land · branch · court · deal · hide · saw

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. court — of law
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. saw — the tool
  7. face — to point toward
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. land — ground
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. court — of a king
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. drill — the tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. land — a country
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. deal — to handle
  19. face — part of the head
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. branch — a division
  22. drill — army training
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — to come down

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