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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: face · last · trunk · mate · wind · root · wax · dip

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. dip — to sink
  6. last — to go on
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wax — to grow
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. root — of a plant
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mate — a friend
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. face — to confront
  16. mate — a partner
  17. root — the cause
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mate — to breed
  21. face — to point toward
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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