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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: plane · straw · spell · face · rest · branch · deal · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — a short time
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spell — magic
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. face — to confront
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. spell — letters
  18. rest — a break
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. branch — a division
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chest — a box

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