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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: temple · pitcher · cell · net · mouse · squash · mark · clip

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. net — for catching
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. net — in sport
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. temple — side of the head

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