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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: hide · temple · perch · face · trunk · cold · stock · kick

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to confront
  15. kick — in football
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stock — shares
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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