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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bank — for money
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. net — after costs
  16. mate — a partner
  17. net — in sport
  18. bank — of a river
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bank — for money
  21. net — for catching
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mate — to breed

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