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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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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 · file · bulb · cold · lash · trunk

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bulb — for light
  10. file — a document
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a line of people
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. face — to point toward
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bulb — for light

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