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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: fan · scale · temple · trunk · wind · stem · race · lie

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. race — a contest
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — humankind
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — in music
  22. stem — to come from
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. race — the arms race

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