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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: temple · march · trunk · stem · present · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. march — music
  5. stem — to come from
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. present — the time now
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. present — a gift
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. present — there
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — from crying

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