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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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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: clip · cold · squash · temple · cap · fine · content · mug

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mug — to rob
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. fine — all right
  5. mug — a face
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a lid
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cold — not warm
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. clip — a video
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cold — an illness
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. content — the amount
  20. cap — a hat
  21. content — happy
  22. squash — to crush
  23. fine — high quality
  24. squash — the sport

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