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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. face — to confront
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mark — a grade
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mine — for digging
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rush — hurry
  24. row — a quarrel

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