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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. roll — a cake
  5. kid — to tease
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kid — child
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. branch — a division
  13. suit — to fit
  14. clip — to cut
  15. roll — a list
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — a video
  19. suit — clothes
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. suit — in cards
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. branch — of a bank

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