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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. race — a contest
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. content — the amount
  5. root — the cause
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a music group
  8. root — of a word
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rule — government
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. race — humankind
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rule — to rule out

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