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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · spring · stock · clip · temple · row · kid · fine

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rule — government
  4. stock — goods
  5. fine — high quality
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. fine — all right
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — of water
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rule — a law
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. clip — a video
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. row — a line
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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