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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. shower — rain
  3. clip — a video
  4. stem — to come from
  5. staff — a stick
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wind — moving air
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. last — to go on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. staff — employees
  15. track — to keep track
  16. last — final
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. track — a path
  19. staff — employees
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. track — a song

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