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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: pop · season · tear · temple · kid · trunk · firm · last

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. tear — from crying
  3. firm — a company
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. firm — steady
  8. last — finally
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — final
  11. firm — decided
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pop — soda
  19. season — in sport
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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