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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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 — in cards
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bank — of a river
  5. tube — the underground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hand — help
  11. bank — for money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bank — for money
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — a container
  23. nail — on a finger
  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