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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 120 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: march · squash · net · cap · kick · hide · wound · file

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. net — in sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — to crush
  8. cap — a hat
  9. squash — the sport
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — of ice
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. net — for catching
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wound — an injury
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. file — a document
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. kick — in football
  24. hide — to keep secret

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