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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. face — to confront
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. roll — a cake
  6. field — a subject
  7. last — to go on
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. face — to point toward
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. last — finally
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. face — part of the head
  18. last — final
  19. field — for sport
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. hand — in cards
  23. roll — a list
  24. field — farmland

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