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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: chair · roll · shower · swing · kid · hand · cap · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. 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. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — child
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cap — a lid
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — to play on
  10. roll — a list
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chair — a leader
  16. hand — help
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. swing — music
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. roll — a cake
  23. swing — in golf
  24. 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