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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ground — a position
  4. hand — in cards
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bark — to shout
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pitch — completely
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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