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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: chest · bat · kick · present · club · fine

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fine — high quality
  3. present — there
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. club — for golf
  9. present — the time now
  10. fine — all right
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — a group
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football

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