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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: tube · squash · trunk · craft · bass · temple · hand · bark

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bass — low music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. tube — a container
  14. craft — boats
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — help
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bass — the fish
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. squash — the sport
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. craft — a handicraft

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