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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: kid · present · kick · straw · ground · fan · wake · sharp

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. present — a gift
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wake — a trail
  16. present — the time now
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — child

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