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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: swing · drill · kid · kick · mate · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — in football
  3. kid — child
  4. drill — the tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mate — a partner
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. swing — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — a practice

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