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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: chest · stem · face · ball · branch · swing · march · bound

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bound — certain
  3. branch — a division
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. swing — music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chest — a box
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. face — to confront
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. march — the month
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stem — to come from
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. march — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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