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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. march — the month
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. drill — army training
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bass — low music
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — rain
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — the tool
  22. march — music
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bass — the fish

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