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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 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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. lie — to recline
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. band — a music group
  17. rash — a series
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. band — a ring
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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