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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: field · chest · tube · scale · fine · leaves · face · branch

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. branch — a division
  7. face — to point toward
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — a box
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fine — high quality
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — a container
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. fine — all right
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — to confront
  22. tube — the underground
  23. scale — size or range
  24. face — part of the head

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