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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · capital · jam · wound · land · trunk

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. 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. trunk — of a tree
  2. face — to point toward
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — an injury
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. face — to confront
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. land — to come down
  12. face — part of the head
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. land — ground
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. 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