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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: leaves · content · wake · drill · tear · pitcher · branch · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. content — happy
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — army training
  12. branch — a division
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. face — to point toward
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — part of the head
  24. leaves — lets stay

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