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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: ball · temple · rule · wind · arm · bat · clip · pop

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rule — government
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. rule — a law
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pop — soda
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pop — music
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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