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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. present — a gift
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — the time now
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fine — high quality
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lie — to recline
  17. court — of a king
  18. kid — child
  19. court — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. court — of law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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