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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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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: chip · lash · wind · temple · dip · wax · clip · field

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. field — farmland
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. dip — to sink
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — a subject
  15. clip — to cut
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wax — to grow
  20. field — for sport
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wind — moving air

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