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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: kid · land · wound · lash · temple · trunk · hand · scale

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. land — a country
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. land — ground
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — to come down
  12. hand — help
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. kid — to tease
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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