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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: hand · wave · kid · pit · mine · race · rash · bank

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bank — of a river
  4. pit — in a race
  5. hand — help
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. race — a contest
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. race — humankind
  19. bank — for money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rash — hasty
  24. wave — of the sea

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