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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  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. kid — to tease
  2. hand — help
  3. can — a tin
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. lie — to recline
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — in cards
  12. staff — a stick
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. can — to be able to
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. can — a tin
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. staff — employees
  23. lie — an untruth
  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