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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a music group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. band — a ring
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. snap — to click
  23. chest — a box
  24. rash — hasty

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