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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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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: degree · land · craft · trunk · rest · arm · face · cap

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to confront
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — ground
  14. degree — an amount
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — boats
  18. land — a country
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. land — to come down
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rest — what's left

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