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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — size or range
  3. court — of a king
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. land — to come down
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. land — ground
  8. track — a song
  9. court — of law
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. track — a path
  13. court — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. scale — in music
  16. track — to keep track
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tear — to rip
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. land — a country
  24. ruler — a monarch

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