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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. court — of law
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. court — for sport
  15. lie — to recline
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hand — help
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. ground — crushed
  22. court — of a king
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitcher — a jug

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