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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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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: kick · chair · tear · sharp · mate · pass · shower · pitch

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — rain
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pass — a permit
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kick — in football
  24. sharp — clever

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