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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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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: foot · kick · board · kid · clip · tube · wax · content

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. board — to get on
  3. kick — in football
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. clip — a video
  8. board — a committee
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tube — a container
  24. wax — to grow

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