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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: clip · race · lie · temple · bowl · racket · bat · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — a video
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pop — soda
  8. race — humankind
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bat — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pop — music

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