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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to confront
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rule — a law
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — final
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — to point toward
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. last — to go on
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rule — government
  21. snap — to click
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fork — in a road

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