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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — to come down
  4. face — to confront
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. squash — the sport
  7. land — ground
  8. sharp — clever
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bark — to shout
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rest — what's left
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rest — a break
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. land — a country

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