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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 116 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: snap · face · band · land · trunk · stick · ball · calf

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a great time
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. land — to come down
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ball — a dance
  15. face — to confront
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — to point toward
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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