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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: wound · trunk · ground · track · pop · stick · face · rash

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ground — crushed
  11. track — a song
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — an injury
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pop — soda
  21. ground — a position
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rash — on the skin

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