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

Word bank: kid · present · bowl · tear · fine · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. kick — in football
  4. kid — child
  5. present — there
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fine — all right
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fine — high quality
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift

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