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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.

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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. spell — letters
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. content — happy
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. scale — in music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — the amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pit — in a race
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pit — a hole
  24. content — videos and posts

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