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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: lie · cold · rest · pop · kid · spell · calf · net

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rest — a break
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — magic
  5. kid — child
  6. pop — music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pop — soda
  9. net — for catching
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spell — letters
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rest — what's left
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — after costs
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. spell — a short time
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — in 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