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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 · bowl · rule · stem · face · chair · field · wake

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — farmland
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. branch — a division
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — to come from
  18. face — part of the head
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. field — a subject

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