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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. perch — the fish
  8. drill — army training
  9. clip — a video
  10. drill — the tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — a practice
  19. field — for sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. perch — for a bird

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