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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: bowl · bark · temple · scale · cold · season · trunk · fork

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fork — in a road
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of a car

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