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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. face — part of the head
  6. chest — a box
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a city
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. face — to confront
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. fall — the season

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