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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lie — to recline
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. court — for sport
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lash — to lash out

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