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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mine — for digging
  4. face — part of the head
  5. file — a line of people
  6. press — newspapers
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. file — a document
  14. press — a publisher
  15. court — of law
  16. press — to push
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — not warm
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — an illness
  24. kick — in football

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