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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 120 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: branch · cap · nail · field · content · face · mate · rush

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — of ice
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mate — a partner
  7. face — part of the head
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. face — to point toward
  12. content — happy
  13. cap — a hat
  14. branch — a division
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. field — for sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mate — a friend
  21. face — to confront
  22. cap — a lid
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. branch — of a tree

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