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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — a division
  7. court — of law
  8. lie — to recline
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fine — high quality
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. scale — size or range
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mark — a grade
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. game — wild animals
  22. court — of a king
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

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