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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 116 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: bat · kid · pound · hand · tear · ruler

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — child
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. pound — a weight
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pound — to hit hard

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