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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 120 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: hand · fine · sharp · ball · game · bank · tear · kid

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bank — for money
  3. ball — a great time
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. tear — from crying
  7. sharp — clever
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bank — of a river
  11. kid — child
  12. ball — a dance
  13. fine — all right
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bank — for money
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fine — high quality
  19. game — a match
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — help
  24. tear — to rip

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