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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — to point toward
  8. last — finally
  9. face — to confront
  10. bound — certain
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — to go on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cold — not warm
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bound — obliged
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bulb — for light

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