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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: shower · kick · chair · wound · fall · present

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fall — the season
  7. chair — a leader
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — an injury
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — a thrill

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