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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: date · ball · cold · current · content · bulb · temple · trunk

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. current — of water
  4. content — the amount
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bulb — for light
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. current — electric
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bulb — for light
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. ball — a great time
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. date — the fruit
  22. current — happening now
  23. content — happy
  24. date — on the calendar

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