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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · trunk · track · ball · pit · patient · roll

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. roll — a list
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. face — to confront
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — to point toward
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cold — an illness
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. ball — a dance
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. track — a path
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cold — not warm
  16. face — part of the head
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pit — in a race
  19. track — a song
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. ball — a great time
  24. patient — a sick person

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