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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chair · object · rush · dip · clip · tear · game

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — a thing
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. object — an aim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rush — hurry
  21. kick — in football
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a kind of play

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