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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — a video
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — for paper
  8. craft — boats
  9. present — a gift
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cold — not warm
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tube — a container
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. staff — a stick
  21. tube — the underground
  22. clip — to cut
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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