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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: last · foot · wound · temple · trunk · present · cap · face

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — to point toward
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. face — to confront
  6. present — a gift
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — finally
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cap — of ice
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wound — an injury
  16. present — there
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. foot — a measure
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. foot — the bottom

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