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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · can · club · rash · degree · temple · lean · bore

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. can — a tin
  3. clip — a video
  4. club — for golf
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. can — a tin
  10. club — for dancing
  11. lean — to bend
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bore — to drill
  14. lean — thin
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — from a university
  17. can — to be able to
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bore — to tire
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. club — a group
  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