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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: sharp · chip · tear · last · shower · band · kid · racket

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chip — to eat
  10. tear — to rip
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — for betting
  17. last — finally
  18. kid — to tease
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. band — a music group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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