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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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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 · chest · bowl · calf · temple · pit · key · content

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. clip — a video
  4. key — for a lock
  5. chest — of your body
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. content — the amount
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. chest — a box
  10. key — in music
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. content — happy
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. calf — a young animal

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