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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 · cold · kid · rush · foot · board · wind · bear

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hand — help
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bear — the animal
  13. board — a committee
  14. wind — moving air
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bear — the animal
  17. board — to get on
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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