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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — for a lock
  4. last — to go on
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pop — to visit
  8. last — final
  9. pop — soda
  10. last — finally
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. branch — a division
  18. key — in music
  19. pop — music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hide — to keep secret

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