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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: trunk · face · kid · toast · wake · calf · object · tear

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. object — to protest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. face — to confront
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — child
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — to rip
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. tear — from crying
  17. object — an aim
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. tear — from crying
  20. toast — bread
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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