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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — help
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. last — finally
  23. perch — the fish
  24. clip — a video

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