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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: kid · stand · chair · rash · rock · spring · arm · tear

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — of water
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rash — a series
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stand — to bear
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rock — music

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