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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: face · field · march · wound · trunk · fine · race · capital

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. field — for sport
  3. face — to confront
  4. race — humankind
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. race — a contest
  12. face — part of the head
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. field — a subject
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fine — all right
  24. capital — a city

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