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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: trunk · content · face · court · cap · kick · track · temple

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. face — part of the head
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. track — a path
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — for sport
  11. kick — in football
  12. track — a song
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. face — to confront
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cap — a lid
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cap — a hat
  24. face — to point toward

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