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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: calf · spell · land · branch · drill · face · chest · ground

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. land — ground
  3. spell — magic
  4. chest — of your body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. ground — a position
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — a short time
  10. branch — a division
  11. face — to point toward
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chest — a box
  18. spell — letters
  19. face — to confront
  20. land — a country
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — crushed
  24. drill — army training

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