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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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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. sharp — clever
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — final
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. last — finally
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. land — ground
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. land — to come down
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. last — to go on

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