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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: cold · face · branch · march · bound · file · lash · sharp

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — the month
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bound — obliged
  10. file — a tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a document
  16. march — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. face — to point toward
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — a division

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