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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: bound · pop · face · wake · land · present · branch · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — ground
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. present — a gift
  12. pop — soda
  13. present — the time now
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bound — obliged
  17. branch — a division
  18. bound — certain
  19. face — to confront
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. pop — to visit
  24. present — there

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