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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kid — to tease
  6. charge — electricity
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. hand — in cards
  10. track — a song
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. charge — in control
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. charge — a price
  20. track — to keep track
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pound — a weight

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