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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: wake · pound · patient · trunk · mine · hand · temple · arm

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mine — for digging
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. pound — a weight
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. hand — part of the body
  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