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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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Word bank
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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 · kick · coach · clip · key · plane · pit

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. clip — for paper
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — a video
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. present — a gift
  11. shower — rain
  12. pit — a hole
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. key — in music
  21. pit — in a race
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — the most important part
  24. plane — in geometry

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