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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · hand · mine · stand · bound · season · kid · band

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a ring
  6. hand — help
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — certain
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stand — to bear
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — belonging to me

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