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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 120 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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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: stick · cell · lie · mine · face · sharp · trunk · rest

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cell — in biology
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. face — part of the head
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. face — to point toward
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. lie — to recline
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rest — what's left
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rest — a break

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