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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: branch · coach · clip · bass · kick · face · snap · content

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. bass — the fish
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. face — part of the head
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — to cut
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — the amount
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kick — in football
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — happy
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to click

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