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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: trunk · fan · foot · rash · nail · pitcher · face · cell

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. face — to confront
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rash — a series
  19. face — to point toward
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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