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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 120 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
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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: trunk · chair · face · bass · spring · spell · sharp · bear

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spell — magic
  6. spring — a coil
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. spell — letters
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — low music
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bear — the animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bass — the fish

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