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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: hand · staff · deal · scale · rush · tear · cold · bound

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — employees
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — in music
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. tear — from crying
  11. scale — size or range
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bound — certain
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rush — hurry
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bound — obliged
  22. staff — employees
  23. bound — tied together
  24. hand — in cards

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