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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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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: trunk · temple · present · file · last · cell · pitch · mark

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. last — final
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitch — completely
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mark — a grade
  10. file — a tool
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. last — finally
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. present — a gift
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. file — a document
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — a trace

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