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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kid — to tease
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. last — finally
  7. spell — magic
  8. chest — of your body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. spell — a short time
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. spell — letters
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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