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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: key · branch · cold · pound · fine · trunk · temple · fall

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — to drop
  3. key — in music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fall — the season
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. key — for a lock
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — an illness
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — to drop
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pound — a weight
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. fine — all right

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