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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. court — of a king
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. lie — to recline
  7. tear — to rip
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. toast — bread
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of law

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