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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: bear · temple · trunk · content · patient · cold · pound · key

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. key — in music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. key — the most important part
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bear — the animal
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cold — the Cold War

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