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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. object — an aim
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — music
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bore — to tire
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — soda
  14. object — a thing
  15. cap — a hat
  16. tear — to rip
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — to visit
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cap — a lid

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