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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cue — a hint
  20. chest — a box
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — child
  23. cue — for pool
  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