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

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — music
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. content — happy
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — employees
  9. kid — to tease
  10. staff — a stick
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kid — child
  14. staff — employees
  15. content — the amount
  16. lie — to recline
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bulb — for light
  24. content — videos and posts

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