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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. snap — to click
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — to confront
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. face — to point toward
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. lean — to bend
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. foot — a measure
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. face — part of the head
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. foot — part of the body

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