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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: squash · chest · saw · arm · clip · lash · kick · craft

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chest — a box
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. squash — to crush
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kick — in football
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. craft — boats
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. clip — a video
  24. kick — a thrill

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