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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: dip · jam · face · trunk · land · shower · tear · perch

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. land — a country
  3. face — part of the head
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. face — to point toward
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. land — to come down
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. tear — to rip
  23. dip — to sink
  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