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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of law
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — soda
  15. wind — moving air
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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