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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: stem · race · tear · land · face · object · temple · clip

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — the arms race
  4. face — to confront
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. object — a thing
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stem — to come from
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — a contest
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. tear — to rip
  14. race — humankind
  15. object — an aim
  16. land — a country
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. object — to protest
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. face — to point toward

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