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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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 — size or range
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. plane — a tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. scale — in music
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — a division
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. trunk — of a tree

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