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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · tube · wound · trunk · face · foot · land · pitcher

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. land — a country
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tube — the underground
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. face — to point toward
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wound — an injury
  24. foot — a measure

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