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

Word bank: trunk · wind · race · club · bowl · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. race — the arms race
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — a group
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — humankind
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wind — moving air
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. club — for dancing
  14. face — to confront
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. race — a contest
  18. club — for golf

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