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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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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: prune · face · clip · mark · hand · trunk · fork · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — in a road
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. face — to confront
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. hand — help
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mark — a trace
  22. fall — the season
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mark — a grade

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