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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: capital · prune · temple · kick · trunk · ruler · clip · race

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. race — the arms race
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. clip — a video
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. race — humankind
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  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