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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: race · temple · band · sharp · row · tube · hand · clip

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. race — a contest
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. race — the arms race
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. row — to paddle
  9. band — a ring
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. tube — the underground
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tube — a container
  21. row — a line
  22. race — humankind
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. hand — part of the body

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