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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hand — help
  3. kid — child
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. roll — a cake
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bore — to drill
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bank — of a river
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. stock — goods
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fall — the season
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. stock — shares
  24. roll — a list

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