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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: wound · branch · rush · race · face · wind · chair · plane

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. rush — hurry
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — a contest
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — moving air
  12. face — part of the head
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. race — the arms race
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. race — humankind
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chair — a leader

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