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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bank — for money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. shower — rain
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — to wash
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tube — a container
  14. club — a group
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — the underground
  17. race — humankind
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kid — child
  21. bank — of a river
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. club — for golf
  24. race — the arms race

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