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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: bay · fork · mate · trunk · cold · race · face · plane

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. race — the arms race
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. race — humankind
  12. mate — to breed
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. race — a contest

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