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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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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 · game · pit · hand · march · shower · mark · temple

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pit — in a race
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. march — the month
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mark — a trace
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. game — a match
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — rain
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. hand — in cards
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pit — a hole
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. shower — to wash

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