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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: cap · clip · chest · straw · root · temple

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cap — of ice
  6. clip — a video
  7. root — the cause
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chest — a box
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. root — of a plant
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. root — of a word
  17. clip — to cut
  18. straw — dry grass

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