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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lean — to bend
  3. object — to protest
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fork — in a road
  10. face — to point toward
  11. object — a thing
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. object — an aim
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. band — a rubber band

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