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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: fan · face · board · present · cold · date · branch · ground

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ground — the earth
  3. board — a committee
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — a gift
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. present — the time now
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — an illness
  19. board — to get on
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ground — crushed
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. present — there
  24. face — to confront

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