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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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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: temple · bear · prune · drill · roll · kick · clip · arm

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. drill — the tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. prune — to trim
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. bear — the animal
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — a cake
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. kick — in football
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bear — the animal
  24. arm — a part of something

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