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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: cold · bear · rash · pound · key · hand · temple · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bear — the animal
  8. key — the most important part
  9. rash — a series
  10. cold — an illness
  11. key — in music
  12. rash — hasty
  13. clip — to cut
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — a weight
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. hand — help
  23. key — for a lock
  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