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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. cue — for pool
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bass — low music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. rest — a break
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. branch — a division
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bass — the fish
  23. temple — side of the head
  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