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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: trunk · content · pop · face · foot · mate · shower · march

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mate — to breed
  4. march — music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mate — a friend
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pop — to visit
  11. content — the amount
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pop — soda
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. face — to confront
  20. mate — a partner
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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