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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: kick · wound · swing · lean · march · tear · rock · tube

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rock — music
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — in football
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. swing — music
  17. lean — thin
  18. tube — the underground
  19. swing — to play on
  20. lean — to bend
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. tear — to rip

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