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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: firm · plane · wound · swing · wake · march · kick · cold

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. swing — in golf
  3. march — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. firm — steady
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — not warm
  8. swing — music
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. firm — a company
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — in football
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. cold — an illness
  21. firm — decided
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kick — with a leg

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