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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fork — in a road
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — to come down
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. face — to confront
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. land — ground
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. trunk — of a tree

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