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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. face — part of the head
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a document
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a line of people

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