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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rash — hasty
  5. kid — child
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. capital — money
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pass — a permit
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. capital — a city
  24. bear — the animal

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