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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · face · temple · wind · mate · stock · bound · trunk

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — final
  4. face — to confront
  5. stock — shares
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — to go on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bound — obliged
  10. stock — goods
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mate — to breed
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. face — to point toward
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. last — finally
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bound — certain
  24. temple — side of the head

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