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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 · present · chest · lie · sharp · kick · wound · cue

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. 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. cue — a signal
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wound — an injury
  5. present — the time now
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cue — a hint
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kick — in football
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — there
  15. cue — for pool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — a box
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. 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