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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. vault — a safe
  6. squash — the sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — happy
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. race — a contest
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lie — to recline
  13. face — part of the head
  14. squash — to crush
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. content — the amount
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — the vegetable

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