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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. track — a song
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. ball — a dance
  5. track — a path
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. clip — for paper
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a great time
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. chair — a leader
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kick — with a leg

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