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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · pound · stem · lie · bat · ruler

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. kid — child
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stem — of a plant

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