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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.

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: face · ball · game · branch · lash · scale · chest · fork

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chest — a box
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. face — to confront
  16. fork — in a road
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — a match
  20. face — part of the head
  21. scale — in music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. scale — size or range
  24. face — to point toward

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