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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: rock · kid · lie · mug · cabinet · tear · content · saw

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kid — to tease
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. content — the amount
  5. mug — a face
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — a cup
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. content — happy
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. kid — child
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rock — music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mug — to rob
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. tear — to rip

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