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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. capital — a city
  9. pound — a weight
  10. capital — money
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bank — of a river
  13. content — the amount
  14. bank — for money
  15. ball — a great time
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. file — a document
  18. bank — for money
  19. content — happy
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — a big letter

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