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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.

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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: trunk · land · court · temple · kid · bass · bulb · sharp

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bulb — for light
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — clever
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. land — to come down
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bulb — for light
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. land — a country
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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