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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 116 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: tear · rush · sharp · rash · band · chair · season · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a ring
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. season — in sport
  14. rash — hasty
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rush — hurry
  18. band — a music group
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rash — a series

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