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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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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: deal · lash · scale · wind · branch · cap · rash · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a lid
  6. face — part of the head
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. branch — a division
  10. face — to point toward
  11. deal — to handle
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cap — of ice
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — a series
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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