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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: cold · bore · lash · face · bass · staff · cell · trunk

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cell — a phone
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bass — low music
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cold — not warm
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — the fish
  17. face — part of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — an illness
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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