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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: degree · stock · lash · court · temple · trunk · hand · bulb

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stock — shares
  14. bulb — for light
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. hand — help
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stock — goods
  20. court — of a king
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bulb — for light
  24. temple — a place of worship

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