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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. rest — what's left
  3. hand — help
  4. object — a thing
  5. bank — of a river
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bank — for money
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bank — for money
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kid — child
  15. rest — a break
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  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