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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — the season
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pop — to visit
  5. clip — a video
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — for paper
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fall — to drop
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pop — soda
  13. fall — to drop
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. track — a path
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pop — music
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. clip — to cut
  24. temple — side of the head

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