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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chair · face · mine · straw · plane · content · spring

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. content — the amount
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. content — happy
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spring — the season
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. spring — a coil
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chair — a leader

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