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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: board · craft · kid · tube · foot · swing · wound · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. swing — in golf
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. craft — boats
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. board — to get on
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — in football
  13. tube — the underground
  14. board — a committee
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wound — an injury
  17. craft — a skill
  18. kid — child
  19. foot — a measure
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tube — a container
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. swing — to play on

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