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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: row · tube · arm · last · degree · trunk · face · pop

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. degree — from a university
  3. last — final
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tube — the underground
  6. last — finally
  7. pop — soda
  8. degree — temperature
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pop — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — part of the head
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. face — to confront
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tube — a container
  22. last — to go on
  23. pop — to visit
  24. row — a line

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