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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: sharp · bat · jam · rash · leaves · face · march · trunk

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. face — to confront
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — music
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of a tree

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