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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — letters
  4. vault — a safe
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. race — a contest
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. date — the fruit
  11. race — the arms race
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. clip — to cut
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — humankind
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. bore — to drill
  20. clip — a video
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bore — to tire
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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