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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 120 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: trunk · hand · lean · cue · temple · club · chest · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. club — a group
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cell — in biology
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hand — help
  8. chest — of your body
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. club — for dancing
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. club — for golf
  18. cue — for pool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. temple — a place of worship

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