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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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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: kick · roll · club · present · hand · spring · cold · lash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. present — the time now
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. present — there
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — in football
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. club — for dancing
  11. present — a gift
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. club — a group
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. hand — help
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. spring — of water
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spring — a coil
  23. club — for golf
  24. hand — in cards

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