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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 · leaves · wound · fan · kick · kid · perch · present

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — rain
  5. kid — child
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. present — a gift
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. present — there
  20. kick — in football
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. present — the time now
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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