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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — help
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. staff — a stick
  8. kid — child
  9. bound — obliged
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. staff — employees
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — to come down
  21. staff — employees
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. rest — what's left

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