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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: season · wind · bear · roll · lie · toast · trunk · capital

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. toast — bread
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. season — of the year
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bear — the animal
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. wind — moving air
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — money
  22. season — in sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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