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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 120 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: face · cap · trunk · row · march · saw · spell · stand

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cap — a hat
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — music
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. stand — to bear
  12. face — to confront
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. face — to point toward
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. row — a line
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cap — of ice
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cap — a lid

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