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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · firm · tear · craft · shower · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. club — for golf
  6. shower — rain
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — child
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — boats
  14. firm — a company
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. tear — to rip

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