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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: kid · fork · present · lean · kick · chest

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kid — child
  4. fork — in a road
  5. present — there
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chest — a box
  8. present — a gift
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — the time now
  12. kick — in football
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. lean — thin

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