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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: season · bowl · kid · hand · wound · chip · rest · stick

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — child
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — help
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. season — of the year
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. kid — to tease
  24. hand — part of the body

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