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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. file — a line of people
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — high quality
  7. track — a path
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — a video
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a document
  15. track — a song
  16. content — the amount
  17. file — a tool
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fine — all right
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. track — to keep track

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