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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: rest · trunk · foot · track · hand · dip · face · season

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. track — a song
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — help
  8. track — to keep track
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. rest — what's left
  12. season — in sport
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. dip — to sink
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. track — a path
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — of the year
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. rest — what's left
  24. dip — a sauce

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