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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. face — to confront
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lie — to recline
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — a subject
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. field — farmland
  13. lean — thin
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. face — part of the head
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. tube — a container
  20. cell — in biology
  21. field — for sport
  22. tube — the underground
  23. face — to point toward
  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