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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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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: land · tube · lie · ball · face · branch · march · root

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — music
  6. face — to confront
  7. root — the cause
  8. tube — the underground
  9. land — to come down
  10. face — to point toward
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tube — a container
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — ground
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. land — a country
  20. ball — a dance
  21. root — of a plant
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. root — of a word
  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