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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. game — a match
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. current — electric
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — wild animals
  12. current — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. current — happening now
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chest — a box
  20. lean — thin
  21. hand — help
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — child
  24. lean — to rest against

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