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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lean — to bend
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. race — the arms race
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. squash — the sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. race — humankind
  22. squash — to crush
  23. face — part of the head
  24. race — a contest

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