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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 · temple · craft · wake · hand · mark · spell · field

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. spell — magic
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. craft — a skill
  8. spell — letters
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — farmland
  12. clip — to cut
  13. craft — boats
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — help
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mark — a trace
  20. field — a subject
  21. mark — a grade
  22. field — for sport
  23. wake — a trail
  24. hand — in cards

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