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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 · saw · jam · band · trunk · land · march · roll

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. roll — a list
  5. land — ground
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. roll — a cake
  12. face — part of the head
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. march — the month
  18. face — to point toward
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. march — music
  22. land — a country
  23. face — to confront
  24. land — to come down

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