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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wound — an injury
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. club — a group
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. club — for golf
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — a video
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — of law
  13. chip — for betting
  14. court — for sport
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. face — to point toward

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