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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: spell · trunk · game · cap · last · face · rest · pitch

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. face — part of the head
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — wild animals
  6. face — to confront
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. last — to go on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spell — magic
  16. cap — of ice
  17. last — final
  18. spell — letters
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. spell — a short time
  22. last — finally
  23. game — a match
  24. rest — what's left

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