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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 120 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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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: file · foot · ruler · face · wake · branch · wind · content

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wind — moving air
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. face — to confront
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. content — the amount
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. branch — a division
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. content — happy
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — a trail

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