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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: key · tear · branch · face · ruler · field · squash · cap

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. field — farmland
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. face — to confront
  8. branch — a division
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a hat
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cap — a lid
  13. face — to point toward
  14. field — for sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. squash — the sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. key — the most important part
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tear — from crying
  23. key — in music
  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