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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — completely
  3. hand — in cards
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mug — a cup
  6. band — a ring
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. band — a music group
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — child
  14. row — a line
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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