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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: race · clip · prune · snap · club · tube · rest · temple

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — a group
  4. race — a contest
  5. rest — a break
  6. prune — to trim
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — the underground
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tube — a container
  13. rest — what's left
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. club — for dancing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. club — for golf
  20. prune — to trim
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. clip — for paper

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