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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.

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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 · face · pitcher · lie · board · race · capital · fan

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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. board — a committee
  4. lie — to recline
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. race — a contest
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — the arms race
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. face — to point toward
  14. capital — a city
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. race — humankind

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