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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: present · tear · lash · kid · chair · hand · bay · snap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. present — the time now
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. kid — child
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. snap — to click
  10. present — there
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tear — to rip
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hand — help
  24. present — a gift

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