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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. can — to be able to
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. vault — a safe
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. can — a tin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — rain
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — to bear
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — a series

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