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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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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: cold · race · temple · stand · club · trunk · arm · file

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. club — for dancing
  9. file — a tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. club — a group
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. race — a contest
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. club — for golf

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