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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: clip · deal · fine · spring · pitcher · game · roll · temple

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. roll — a cake
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. clip — to cut
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. clip — a video
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. roll — a list
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — for paper
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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