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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: clip · object · drill · spell · temple · capital · chest · perch

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — army training
  4. spell — magic
  5. chest — a box
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. clip — for paper
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — to cut
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. object — a thing
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. object — to protest
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. chest — of your body

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