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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 120 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: race · row · season · cell · clip · temple

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — for paper
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. season — in sport
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — a video
  11. race — a contest
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. season — of the year
  14. row — to paddle
  15. race — the arms race
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cell — a phone
  18. 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