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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — to cut
  10. craft — boats
  11. pit — in a race
  12. clip — a video
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — in sport
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stock — shares
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — goods
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. craft — a handicraft

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