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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 116 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: rest · tear · plane · last · trunk · wave · face · hand

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. face — part of the head
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — help
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. last — final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. face — to confront
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. plane — a tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. face — to point toward
  24. hand — in cards

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