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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: clip · cell · temple · nail · capital · prune · date · hide

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a city
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — the fruit
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — to trim
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cell — in biology
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. capital — a big letter

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