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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — of law
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — to rip
  7. dip — to sink
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rock — music
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rock — a stone
  23. hand — help
  24. tear — from crying

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