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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: ruler · bore · root · kid · clip · wind · band · temple

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a ring
  3. root — the cause
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — to tease
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. root — of a plant
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — child
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. ruler — for measuring

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