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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. firm — decided
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — a trail
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. net — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. net — for catching
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. net — after costs

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