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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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Word bank
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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 · perch · hide · court · ball · straw · roll · lie

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. lie — to recline
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. court — for sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. court — of a king
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. court — of law
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. perch — the fish

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