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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. clip — a video
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. root — of a word
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. mine — for digging
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — the cause
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. root — of a plant
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — for paper

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