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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rash — a series
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — hasty
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. lie — to recline
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mug — to rob
  18. hand — in cards
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mug — a face
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mug — a cup
  24. kid — child

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