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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 · suit · perch · mine · wave · face · chest · clip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. suit — in cards
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. perch — the fish
  7. mine — for digging
  8. suit — to fit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — a video
  12. suit — clothes
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. face — to confront
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chest — of your body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — an explosive

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