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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to click
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bank — for money
  12. kid — child
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. hand — in cards
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — a country
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bank — of a river
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. land — to come down
  22. bank — for money
  23. land — ground
  24. lie — to recline

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