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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cue — for pool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — a video
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wind — moving air
  19. degree — an amount
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cue — a hint
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cue — a signal

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