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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 · face · squash · leaves · hand · spell · cell · game

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. hand — in cards
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. squash — the sport
  5. branch — a division
  6. spell — a short time
  7. game — a match
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spell — letters
  10. face — to confront
  11. spell — magic
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. face — part of the head
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cell — in biology
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cell — a phone
  22. hand — help
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. squash — to crush

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