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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: chip · kick · wound · wind · object · kid

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. object — to protest
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. object — a thing
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. object — an aim
  18. kick — with a leg

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