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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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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: ball · squash · shower · tube · hide · face · present · branch

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — there
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. present — a gift
  18. ball — a great time
  19. squash — the sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — to wash
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ball — a dance
  24. squash — to crush

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