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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: craft · temple · march · mouse · degree · clip · chair · prune

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — from a university
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. prune — to trim
  13. craft — boats
  14. chair — a leader
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — music
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — to cut

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