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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: face · lie · wave · season · race · chest · cell · trunk

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. chest — of your body
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. race — humankind
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. season — of the year
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. chest — a box
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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