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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — a tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. court — of a king
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rash — hasty
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rash — a series
  19. can — a tin
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — the Cold War

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