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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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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: pound · temple · last · wind · trunk · cell

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pound — a weight
  3. last — final
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. last — finally
  14. cell — in biology
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. last — to go on
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — moving air

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