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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · race · mine · degree · clip · temple · date · bore

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bore — to tire
  3. can — a tin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. degree — temperature
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — the arms race
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. race — a contest
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. race — humankind
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — for digging
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — to cut
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — a video
  24. can — to be able to

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