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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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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: can · prune · bat · cell · clip · root · temple · content

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in biology
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. can — a tin
  6. root — of a word
  7. can — a tin
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. content — happy
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — a phone
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. root — the cause
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — a video
  19. root — of a plant
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bat — the animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — videos and posts

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