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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: lean · kick · trunk · foot · patient · swing · cue · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cue — a hint
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. cue — a signal
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. lean — thin
  11. kick — in football
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cue — for pool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — to play on
  19. clip — a video
  20. swing — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. lean — to bend

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