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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
468
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: track · rule · wave · branch · bat · face · file · pitch

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. rule — a law
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rule — government
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a line of people
  14. track — a song
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. branch — a division
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. file — a document
  23. track — a path
  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