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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — in sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. net — after costs
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — a video
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rest — a break
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. net — for catching

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