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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. swing — music
  5. tear — to rip
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — from crying
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — to play on
  24. clip — a video

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