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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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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: lean · wind · race · straw · face · lie · trunk · arm

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lie — to recline
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. face — to confront
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — a contest
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — humankind
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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