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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bound — obliged
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bound — tied together
  9. content — happy
  10. spell — magic
  11. content — the amount
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pit — in a race
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a document
  17. bound — certain
  18. pit — a hole
  19. file — a line of people
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. file — a tool
  22. march — music
  23. spell — letters
  24. plane — an aircraft

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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