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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 116 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: wind · kick · racket · trunk · game · band · kid · sharp

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. kick — in football
  3. band — a ring
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. game — a match
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. sharp — clever
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — to tease
  16. band — a music group
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. racket — for tennis

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