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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. branch — a division
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. toast — bread
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — magic
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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