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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: content · branch · face · shower · press · game · roll · wake

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. press — a publisher
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. press — to push
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — rain
  9. press — newspapers
  10. face — to point toward
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. branch — a division
  14. roll — a cake
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. face — to confront
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. shower — to wash
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wake — a trail
  23. face — part of the head
  24. branch — of a bank

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