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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: hand · bore · ground · fall · branch · face · root · present

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ground — the earth
  5. root — of a plant
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. ground — a position
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. hand — help
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ground — crushed
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. root — of a word
  14. present — a gift
  15. hand — in cards
  16. present — there
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. branch — a division
  21. present — the time now
  22. face — part of the head
  23. root — the cause
  24. bore — to drill

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