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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — from a university
  14. land — ground
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. content — the amount
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — to shout
  24. land — to come down

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