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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. band — a music group
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cap — a lid
  5. face — part of the head
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — of a word
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — a hat
  10. track — a song
  11. ball — a great time
  12. root — the cause
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. band — a ring
  17. track — to keep track
  18. face — to confront
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cap — of ice
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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