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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: racket · pop · mine · plane · kick · hand · chip · wind

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pop — to visit
  8. hand — help
  9. plane — a tool
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pop — soda
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — in cards
  16. chip — to eat
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mine — for digging

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