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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: cell · bowl · mine · prune · kid · march · bear · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kid — to tease
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. march — music
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. lie — to recline
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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