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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · clip · craft · bat · fine · temple · cap · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. clip — to cut
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cap — a lid
  11. toast — bread
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. craft — boats
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. content — the amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fine — all right
  24. cap — of ice

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