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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. lie — to recline
  5. chest — a box
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — of a king
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — of law
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a match
  24. lie — an untruth

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