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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: bat · mouse · ground · face · march · stand · root · trunk

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. face — to point toward
  5. root — of a word
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. face — to confront
  8. march — the month
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. ground — a position
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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