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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mug — to rob
  6. march — music
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chair — a leader
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — ground
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mug — a cup
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — moving air
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mug — a face

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