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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: rule · coach · temple · cold · stem · face · clip · wave

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. face — to point toward
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rule — a law
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rule — government
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. face — to confront
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  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