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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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468
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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chest — a box
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — a video
  11. club — for dancing
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. club — a group
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — to rip
  22. club — for golf
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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