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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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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 · rock · fine · last · wound · face · clip · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fine — all right
  3. last — final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. face — to confront
  7. can — to be able to
  8. clip — a video
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — to cut
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. can — a tin
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. face — to point toward

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