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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fine — high quality
  4. race — humankind
  5. chair — a leader
  6. kick — in football
  7. race — the arms race
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — help
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fine — all right
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. hand — in cards
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. deal — to handle
  24. kick — a thrill

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