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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 120 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: court · bear · mouse · land · lie · chest · temple · cap

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. court — of a king
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — to come down
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. land — a country
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. land — ground
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. court — of law
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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