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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: kid · board · lie · ground · capital · tear · ball · perch

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — crushed
  4. board — to get on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. capital — money
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — child
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lie — to recline
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. capital — a city
  18. ball — a great time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. board — a committee
  21. ground — a position
  22. tear — to rip
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ground — the earth

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