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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: face · trunk · snap · straw · capital · tear · season · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — of the year
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. face — part of the head
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rest — a break
  13. face — to point toward
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. snap — to click
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. season — in sport
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rest — what's left
  24. face — to confront

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