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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: kick · cue · spring · bowl · clip · temple · staff · chest

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. staff — a stick
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kick — in football
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cue — for pool
  14. staff — employees
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — of water
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. staff — employees
  20. chest — a box
  21. cue — a signal
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. spring — a coil
  24. temple — side of the head

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