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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 · bound · ground · jam · drill · file · perch · temple

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. file — a tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. drill — a practice
  13. file — a document
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. file — a line of people
  18. ground — crushed
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bound — obliged
  23. drill — the tool
  24. temple — a place of worship

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