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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tear — to rip
  11. key — for a lock
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. key — in music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. rash — a series
  19. key — the most important part
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

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