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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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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: pit · nail · kid · prune · club · hand · bear · band

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kid — child
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bear — the animal
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a music group
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pit — a hole
  21. band — a ring
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bear — the animal

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