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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · trunk · clip · temple · march · tube · scale · leaves

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. clip — for paper
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — the month
  24. tube — in a tire

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