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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. roll — a list
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bound — obliged
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bound — tied together
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bound — certain
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. clip — a video
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stock — shares
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stock — goods

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