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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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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: spell · dip · foot · clip · cold · wave · leaves · temple

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. clip — a video
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spell — letters
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. spell — a short time
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spell — magic
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. foot — a measure
  22. clip — to cut
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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