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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. scale — size or range
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. craft — boats
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. hand — in cards
  13. scale — in music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — to cut
  16. land — to come down
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. land — ground
  22. craft — a skill
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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