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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 120 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 · kick · lean · club · temple · clip

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kick — in football
  4. club — for golf
  5. race — humankind
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — a contest
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. clip — for paper
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against

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