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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: temple · file · trunk · straw · foot · pop · wind · lash

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a line of people
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — to visit
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pop — soda
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pop — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. foot — part of the body
  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