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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — finally
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — final
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chest — a box
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. last — to go on
  18. pitcher — a jug

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