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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — child
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bound — certain
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. present — the time now
  24. bound — obliged

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