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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 · face · shower · lie · content · hand · wake · saw

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. wake — a trail
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — in cards
  12. face — to confront
  13. saw — the tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. shower — to wash
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. hand — help
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. content — the amount

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