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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.

Make a worksheet

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: fork · spell · march · mine · sharp · temple · clip · chair

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spell — letters
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. march — the month
  20. chair — a leader
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. sharp — clever

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