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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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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 · chair · wave · season · kid · march

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. season — of the year
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. march — the month
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kid — child
  14. kick — in football
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wave — with your hand

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