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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 · race · trunk · scale · wind · wave · cold · bay

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wind — moving air
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. scale — in music
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — a contest
  19. cold — an illness
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wind — moving air

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