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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. current — of water
  11. shower — rain
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. shower — to wash
  17. foot — a measure
  18. deal — to handle
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. current — electric
  22. rush — hurry
  23. current — happening now
  24. kid — to tease

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