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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · bark · plane · chest · face · last · wax · toast

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — to shout
  4. last — to go on
  5. toast — bread
  6. face — part of the head
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chest — of your body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. plane — a tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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