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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hand — help
  8. club — for golf
  9. mate — a friend
  10. club — a group
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mate — to breed
  21. kid — child
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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