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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: perch · last · arm · patient · race · kid · court · lie

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. court — of a king
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — child
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. race — humankind
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — a contest
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — for sport

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