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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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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: kid · trunk · wound · clip · tube · stick · plane · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — to tease

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