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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. season — in sport
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rash — hasty
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. season — of the year
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. temple — a place of worship

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