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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chest — a box
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. suit — to fit
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — for sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. suit — clothes
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. court — of law
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — of a king
  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