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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. clip — to cut
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. perch — the fish
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fork — in a road

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