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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. spell — letters
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a line of people
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spring — the season
  14. file — a document
  15. spring — a coil
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — for digging
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. clip — a video
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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