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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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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: wound · kick · spring · fall · bore · swing · tube · pitch

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. swing — to play on
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tube — a container
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kick — in football
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pitch — completely

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