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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: season · clip · face · squash · trunk · deal · bear · pop

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — soda
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bear — the animal
  6. face — part of the head
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. pop — music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. face — to confront
  21. clip — to cut
  22. squash — to crush
  23. clip — a video
  24. season — to add flavour

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