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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. row — a line
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. craft — a skill
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hand — in cards
  21. craft — boats
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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