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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: chest · bore · kick · swing · wind · content · mark · racket

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — happy
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. content — the amount
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. kick — in football
  18. swing — to play on
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bore — to tire
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. swing — music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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