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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: kick · kid · plane · lean · swing · present · pitch · shower

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. swing — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitch — completely
  6. present — a gift
  7. plane — a tool
  8. kick — in football
  9. present — there
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. present — the time now

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