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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 · rule · plane · field · hand · bore · face · capital

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rule — government
  6. plane — a tool
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. capital — money
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rule — a law
  19. face — to point toward
  20. capital — a city
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. face — to confront

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