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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cell — a phone
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tear — to rip
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. foot — a measure
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. band — a ring
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tear — from crying
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. face — to confront
  24. band — a music group

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