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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: bass · temple · trunk · content · rush · stem · game · fall

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a match
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bass — low music
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fall — to drop
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — the amount
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. content — happy
  18. fall — the season
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bass — the fish
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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