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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: face · saw · scale · drill · current · spring · branch · file

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. current — of water
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. saw — the tool
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. drill — a practice
  11. spring — the season
  12. current — electric
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a tool
  15. face — to confront
  16. saw — the tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. branch — a division
  19. current — happening now
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to point toward
  22. spring — of water
  23. file — a document
  24. branch — of a tree

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