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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mug — a cup
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — not warm
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mug — a face
  11. clip — a video
  12. cold — an illness
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. scale — in music
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. clip — to cut
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mug — to rob

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