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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: hide · chest · face · scale · spell · spring · fall · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. scale — in music
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fall — to drop
  7. branch — a division
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. face — part of the head
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spring — the season
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. fall — the season
  24. spring — of water

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