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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tear — from crying
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. tear — to rip

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