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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: bear · racket · temple · stick · straw · clip · race · prune

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. prune — to trim
  4. race — a contest
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — a video
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. clip — to cut

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