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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: face · kick · trunk · dip · perch · scale · lie · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. scale — in music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. face — to confront
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. face — to point toward
  21. dip — to sink
  22. face — part of the head
  23. perch — the fish
  24. trunk — of a car

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