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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — to recline
  3. charge — a price
  4. row — a line
  5. chest — of your body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. charge — electricity
  10. dip — to sink
  11. court — for sport
  12. charge — in control
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of a king
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of law
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. calf — of the leg

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