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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. face — to confront
  3. cue — for pool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. perch — the fish
  7. land — ground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. land — to come down
  10. face — part of the head
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — money
  14. land — a country
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. row — a line
  20. cue — a hint
  21. capital — a city
  22. face — to point toward
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. cue — a signal

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