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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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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: bay · prune · chest · clip · racket · temple · current · band

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. current — happening now
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. clip — for paper
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a music group
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a ring
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. current — of water
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — electric

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