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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: temple · wind · degree · leaves · clip · pass · present · track

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — a video
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. present — the time now
  10. pass — a permit
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — moving air
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. present — there
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — to keep track
  24. leaves — to go away

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