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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: track · clip · content · temple · bat · bank · land · trunk

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bank — for money
  3. clip — a video
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. content — the amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. track — a song
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. content — happy
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — a path
  24. land — ground

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