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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 is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. rule — government
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. track — a path
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rule — a law
  16. track — to keep track
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — a box
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. degree — temperature
  22. track — a song
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chest — of your body

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