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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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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: fork · content · arm · trunk · rest · wind · wake · face

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wake — a trail
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — happy
  22. content — the amount
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — to turn a key

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