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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tear — to rip
  4. present — the time now
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — a gift
  7. ball — a great time
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. spring — of water
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. present — there
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — for sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. ball — a dance
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. court — of a king
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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