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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 120 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 · pop · kid · lean · saw · foot · present · rush

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pop — music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — to tease
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. shower — rain
  17. pop — soda
  18. saw — the tool
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lean — thin
  24. present — the time now

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