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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chest — of your body
  5. season — of the year
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lean — to bend
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. track — a song
  10. spell — letters
  11. season — in sport
  12. court — of law
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. court — of a king
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. lean — thin
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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