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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. face — to confront
  3. charge — in control
  4. lean — thin
  5. present — a gift
  6. face — part of the head
  7. present — there
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — a price
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tear — to rip
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. present — the time now
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. charge — electricity
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spell — magic

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