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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.

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: cold · face · chest · net · board · game · trunk · prune

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. board — to get on
  10. net — after costs
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — a match
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. net — for catching
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. net — in sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — a kind of play

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