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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: rock · branch · face · net · perch · wound · capital · bowl

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. net — after costs
  10. branch — a division
  11. net — in sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. net — for catching
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — a stone
  16. perch — the fish
  17. face — to confront
  18. rock — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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