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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: march · fine · kid · perch · band · hand · dip · tube

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. march — music
  5. kid — child
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. hand — help
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. kid — to tease
  15. dip — to sink
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fine — high quality
  19. tube — the underground
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. band — a ring
  24. perch — for a bird

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