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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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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: wake · bear · hand · firm · pit · shower · net · kid

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wake — a trail
  3. net — after costs
  4. firm — a company
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pit — in a race
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. firm — decided
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. firm — steady
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. hand — help

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