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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: kid · season · toast · temple · scale · stand · clip · arm

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stand — to bear
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — to tease
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. toast — bread
  11. scale — in music
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. season — of the year
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. scale — size or range
  21. season — in sport
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. kid — child
  24. clip — a video

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