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

Word bank: face · pound · capital · deal · bat · kid · ball · lie

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. kid — to tease
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ball — a great time
  11. face — to confront
  12. bat — the animal
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. capital — a city
  15. face — to point toward
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. capital — money
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. deal — to handle
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — a weight

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