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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. race — humankind
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cap — a lid
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. race — a contest
  10. cap — of ice
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — to tease
  15. court — for sport
  16. chair — a leader
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cap — a hat
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — of law
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. court — of a king
  24. lie — to recline

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