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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — for golf
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kid — to tease
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kick — in football
  14. craft — boats
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stand — to bear
  18. craft — a skill
  19. club — for dancing
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — a video
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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