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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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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: tear · hide · cell · face · snap · date · field · trunk

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — from crying
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — to rip
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — for sport
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — to confront
  22. date — the fruit
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tear — from crying

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