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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. cap — a lid
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mate — a friend
  6. club — for golf
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mate — to breed
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — a line
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — a group
  20. tear — from crying
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — a list
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. tear — to rip

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