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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. band — a ring
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. stock — goods
  8. game — wild animals
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — for paper
  16. kid — to tease
  17. band — a music group
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — child
  22. lean — thin
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. jam — in traffic

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