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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: mark · trunk · lash · chair · cue · temple · pound · cold

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cue — for pool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cue — a hint
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chair — a leader
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cue — a signal
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mark — a grade
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — not warm

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