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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: game · rest · season · wind · trunk · mark · straw · face

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — a grade
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wind — moving air
  5. face — to point toward
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rest — a break
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. game — wild animals
  15. face — to confront
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. trunk — of a tree

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