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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: root · clip · bat · wake · face · chest · current · temple

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. clip — to cut
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chest — a box
  20. current — happening now
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. root — of a word
  23. clip — a video
  24. root — of a plant

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