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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: chair · dip · bat · temple · vault · clip · calf · snap

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to click
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. vault — a safe
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. dip — to sink
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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