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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
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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: pop · key · stick · cold · clip · land · temple · trunk

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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 — to cut
  3. cold — not warm
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. land — a country
  13. pop — soda
  14. key — for a lock
  15. clip — for paper
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. key — the most important part
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. land — to come down
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. key — in music
  24. pop — music

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