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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. toast — bread
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — the season
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rock — music
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spring — of water
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. rest — what's left

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