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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: mate · cell · branch · fine · face · coach · dip · spring

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. face — part of the head
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. face — to point toward
  5. spring — a coil
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — the season
  8. mate — a partner
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spring — of water
  15. branch — a division
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cell — a phone
  20. face — to confront
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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