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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 · pit · lean · kick · straw · coach · chip · chest

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — a box
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. lean — thin
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chip — to eat
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. lean — to bend

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