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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. face — part of the head
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rush — hurry
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. land — ground
  10. face — to confront
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. land — to come down
  16. degree — an amount
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. stem — to come from
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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