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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 120 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: capital · bank · prune · face · trunk · kick · bear · wound

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. prune — to trim
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bank — for money
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bank — for money
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. capital — a city
  19. bear — the animal
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. capital — money
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kick — in football

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