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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. face — part of the head
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. face — to confront
  15. shower — to wash
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — a coil
  19. plane — a tool
  20. face — to point toward
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spring — the season
  24. racket — a loud noise

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