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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of a king
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — for sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — the sport
  18. court — of law

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