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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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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: race · prune · hide · wave · bass · temple · clip · hand

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. bass — low music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. clip — a video
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — humankind
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — to trim
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. race — the arms race
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. race — a contest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — the fish

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