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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: bat · branch · charge · bark · cue · face · clip · chest

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — a box
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bat — the animal
  7. face — part of the head
  8. charge — a price
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cue — a signal
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. face — to point toward
  14. charge — in control
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — a video
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cue — a hint
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a bank

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