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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: clip · temple · field · game · chest · lash · safe · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chest — a box
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — a video
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — for sport
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — a match

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