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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bear — the animal
  7. row — a line
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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