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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mate · temple · race · can · prune · firm · rash · clip

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. firm — steady
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — a company
  10. rash — a series
  11. mate — to breed
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — humankind
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. race — a contest
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. race — the arms race
  19. can — a tin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mate — a partner
  22. firm — decided
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — a video

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