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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: squash · temple · clip · rule · content · mate · stem · chest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chest — a box
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rule — government
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chest — of your body
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. clip — a video
  15. content — the amount
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rule — a law
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. content — happy
  22. squash — to crush
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chest — of your 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