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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: temple · bowl · branch · bay · trunk · cold · shower · bark

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — a division
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cold — not warm
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. shower — rain
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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