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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: game · trunk · pop · branch · land · file · temple · content

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. land — to come down
  4. file — a document
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. content — the amount
  10. land — ground
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. file — a line of people
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. branch — a division
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — a country
  17. game — wild animals
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pop — music
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. file — a tool

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