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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: row · wake · clip · chest · kick · firm · hand · dip

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. kick — in football
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hand — help
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a line
  23. clip — to cut
  24. row — to paddle

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