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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ball — a dance
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. present — the time now
  8. degree — from a university
  9. present — a gift
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bank — for money
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bank — of a river
  16. present — there
  17. bank — for money
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. saw — the tool
  24. ball — a round shape

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