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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 · lash · sharp · shower · trunk · patient · spring · chair

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. face — to confront
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. spring — a coil
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — to wash
  13. spring — of water
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. chair — a leader
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. face — part of the head
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — clever
  24. patient — a sick person

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