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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 116 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: fork · face · cap · march · firm · branch · net · straw

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. firm — steady
  3. net — for catching
  4. fork — in a road
  5. face — to confront
  6. cap — of ice
  7. march — music
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. firm — decided
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. firm — a company
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. net — after costs

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