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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. 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. mate — a partner
  2. bear — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tube — the underground
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tube — a container
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — ground
  13. court — for sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. land — to come down
  16. mate — to breed
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — to rip
  20. court — of a king
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — a friend
  24. 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