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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 120 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: rash · chip · fall · hand · season · kid · ground · mouse

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chip — to eat
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rash — a series
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fall — the season
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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