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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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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: key · trunk · deal · present · perch · ground · face · chest

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. key — for a lock
  4. face — to point toward
  5. deal — to handle
  6. chest — of your body
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — the fish
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. present — the time now
  13. ground — a position
  14. face — part of the head
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ground — the earth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chest — a box
  20. present — there
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. face — to confront

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