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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — child
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — rain
  8. track — a path
  9. chest — a box
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bank — for money
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. saw — the tool
  20. current — happening now
  21. bank — for money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bank — of a river

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