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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rash — a series
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — child
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rash — hasty
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wave — with your hand

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