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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rest — what's left
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. present — the time now
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. present — there
  10. face — to point toward
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — in music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rest — a break
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. present — a gift
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — to confront

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