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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: toast · field · row · band · tear · dip · clip · temple

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. row — to paddle
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — from crying
  14. toast — bread
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — to rip
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. row — a line
  23. band — a rubber band
  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