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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · leaves · cell · march · face · branch · bat · trunk

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wound — an injury
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. march — the month
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — music
  24. face — to confront

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