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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: wake · file · stand · prune · face · fan · wound · branch

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — to confront
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. face — to point toward
  24. prune — the fruit

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