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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. court — for sport
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pop — soda
  16. kid — child
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lie — to recline
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pass — a permit
  24. court — of law

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