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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: temple · ground · file · bat · hand · trunk · safe · kick

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kick — in football
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. hand — help
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. ground — a position
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. ground — the earth

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