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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. pound — a weight
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — a break
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — a video
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. kid — child
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. jam — in traffic

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