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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: pit · dip · tear · content · race · temple · season · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. content — happy
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. race — the arms race
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. race — a contest
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — of the year
  15. pit — in a race
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. season — in sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. tear — to rip
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. dip — to sink

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