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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chest — a box
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — finally
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — to go on
  13. game — a match
  14. last — final
  15. net — for catching
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — the fish
  19. net — in sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. game — wild animals
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bulb — of a plant

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