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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. face — to confront
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. face — part of the head
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — not warm
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. dip — to sink
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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