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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: board · stock · march · leaves · rest · cold · temple · trunk

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. board — to get on
  5. stock — goods
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cold — an illness
  10. march — the month
  11. board — a committee
  12. rest — a break
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — shares
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rest — what's left
  24. leaves — to go away

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