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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · land · spring · tear · branch · face · dip · stem

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — to point toward
  3. land — ground
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fall — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. face — to confront
  13. land — a country
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — a division
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — to drop
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spring — the season
  21. dip — to sink
  22. land — to come down
  23. fall — to drop
  24. dip — to dunk

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