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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: dip · squash · kid · vault · roll · chest · clip · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. dip — to sink
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. squash — to crush
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — the sport
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. roll — a list
  18. chest — a box
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. clip — to cut
  21. roll — a cake
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — a video

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