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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: hand · chair · shower · rock · kick · straw · pitch · fine

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. hand — help
  7. fine — all right
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chair — a leader
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fine — high quality
  23. kick — in football
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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