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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — all right
  3. tear — from crying
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fine — high quality
  8. court — of law
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. tear — to rip
  13. game — wild animals
  14. court — for sport
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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