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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 · trunk · land · stick · field · present · shower · bowl

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. field — farmland
  7. shower — rain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. face — to confront
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. face — to point toward
  14. land — to come down
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. shower — to wash
  20. present — a gift
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. present — there
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. present — the time now

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