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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.

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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: face · net · hand · bound · stand · race · cabinet · branch

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — help
  3. face — to confront
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bound — certain
  10. face — part of the head
  11. race — humankind
  12. bound — obliged
  13. branch — a division
  14. race — the arms race
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. race — a contest
  24. hand — in cards

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