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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 120 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: bound · hand · shower · kick · pit · firm · cell · present

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — certain
  6. present — a gift
  7. kick — in football
  8. present — the time now
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. firm — a company
  11. bound — tied together
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. hand — help
  14. firm — steady
  15. cell — in biology
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. shower — rain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — a hole
  24. present — there

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