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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. craft — boats
  4. face — to point toward
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — part of the head
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — the season
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. craft — a skill
  17. spring — of water
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. toast — bread
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. shower — rain
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. face — to confront

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