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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. shower — to wash
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. chair — a leader
  6. shower — rain
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. vault — a safe
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. race — a contest
  19. kid — to tease
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — child
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. race — humankind

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