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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: temple · mark · racket · band · leaves · fall · clip · kid

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. clip — a video
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mark — a grade
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — the season
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. band — a music group
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mark — a trace
  17. kid — to tease
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a ring
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. racket — a loud noise

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