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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 120 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chest — of your body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rest — a break
  15. prune — to trim
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chest — a box
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fork — in a road

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