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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bore — to drill
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. file — a tool
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cap — of ice
  18. file — a document
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — a practice
  22. file — a line of people
  23. face — to confront
  24. lie — an untruth

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