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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · hide · trunk · face · bat · rule · straw · stem

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rule — a law
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rule — government
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. land — a country
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. face — to confront
  23. bat — the animal
  24. straw — a straw man

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