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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 116 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 · hand · bowl · bark · season · lie · ruler · present

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. season — of the year
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. present — there
  8. lie — to recline
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kid — to tease
  14. present — the time now
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — child
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — a gift

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