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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. fall — to drop
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. root — of a plant
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. root — of a word
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cue — for pool
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cue — a signal
  20. root — the cause
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cue — a hint
  23. fall — the season
  24. hand — help

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