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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: cold · craft · lash · march · kick · wind · kid · arm

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kid — child
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kick — in football
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. march — music
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — to tease
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wind — to turn a key

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