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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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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: temple · stick · branch · bay · trunk · saw · row · pound

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. row — a line
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. row — to paddle
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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