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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spell — a short time
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. march — the month
  11. lie — to recline
  12. court — of a king
  13. season — in sport
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. court — of law
  17. march — music
  18. season — of the year
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. court — for sport

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