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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — child
  3. lie — to recline
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — to handle
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. court — for sport
  12. ground — a position
  13. kid — to tease
  14. court — of law
  15. ground — the earth
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. season — of the year
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. court — of a king
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — in sport
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bowl — to roll

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