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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: kick · wound · clip · perch · squash · dip · rush · wave

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. squash — to crush
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rush — hurry
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. squash — the sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. dip — to sink
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. kick — in football
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wave — with your hand

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