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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. content — the amount
  3. stem — to come from
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — for paper
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — happy
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ruler — for measuring

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