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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: cold · face · board · trunk · present · branch · bear · swing

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. face — to confront
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. swing — music
  5. present — the time now
  6. bear — the animal
  7. branch — a division
  8. board — to get on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. present — a gift
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bear — the animal
  14. present — there
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cold — an illness
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — to play on
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. board — a committee
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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