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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 116 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: face · net · land · chip · club · trunk · wound · wind

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. wound — an injury
  7. land — to come down
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — to point toward
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — a group
  17. chip — to eat
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — part of the head
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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