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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — child
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. court — of law
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — to tease
  15. root — the cause
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lie — to recline
  18. court — for sport
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — the arms race
  21. root — of a plant
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. chest — a box

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