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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. current — of water
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. kid — child
  9. stand — to bear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chest — a box
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. current — electric
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rock — music
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. current — happening now
  24. rock — to move gently

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