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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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 — a video
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. clip — to cut
  5. season — of the year
  6. bound — certain
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mine — for digging
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — obliged
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — the season
  17. dip — to sink
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bulb — of a plant

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