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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 · rock · kick · key · lie · roll · hand · saw

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. saw — the tool
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. key — the most important part
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. roll — a cake
  9. hand — help
  10. shower — to wash
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. hand — in cards
  19. roll — a list
  20. lie — to recline
  21. shower — rain
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. key — in music

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