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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: trunk · tear · roll · wake · face · plane · fan · degree

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. roll — a list
  3. degree — from a university
  4. roll — a cake
  5. degree — an amount
  6. face — to point toward
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. face — to confront
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. face — part of the head
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wake — a trail
  24. trunk — of a tree

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