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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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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 · mate · cap · firm · content · face · present · clip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. clip — a video
  6. firm — steady
  7. face — to confront
  8. cap — a hat
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. present — there
  12. firm — a company
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — a gift
  17. firm — decided
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — to breed
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. present — the time now
  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