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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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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: straw · suit · tear · arm · kid · season · hand · fall

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — in cards
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. fall — to drop
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fall — the season
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. suit — in cards
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. hand — help
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. suit — clothes
  19. tear — to rip
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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