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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — final
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spell — letters
  9. clip — a video
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. spell — magic
  14. can — to be able to
  15. clip — to cut
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. last — to go on
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — finally
  20. spell — a short time
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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