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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 116 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: bat · branch · tear · stand · bound · ground · face · file

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bound — certain
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — tied together
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a document
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stand — to bear
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. face — to point toward
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — part of the head

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