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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: wound · net · board · kick · pit · tube · scale · kid

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. board — to get on
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — in music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kid — child
  11. net — in sport
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pit — a hole
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — in football
  17. board — a committee
  18. net — for catching
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pit — in a race
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. kick — a thrill

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