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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: content · march · tear · nail · clip · mine · board · temple

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. tear — to rip
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. content — happy
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. mine — for digging
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. march — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. board — a committee

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