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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: dip · lash · clip · ball · foot · chest · temple · kick

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — a video
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chest — a box
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. dip — to sink
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. ball — a great time
  23. kick — in football
  24. foot — part of the body

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