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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. craft — boats
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — a city
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — in football
  15. season — of the year
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. face — part of the head
  21. season — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. capital — money
  24. kick — a thrill

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