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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · hand · temple · spell · straw · face · shower · tear

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spell — magic
  7. face — to point toward
  8. spell — a short time
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — letters
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. face — part of the head
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — part of the body

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