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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 120 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. lie — to recline
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. race — the arms race

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