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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — of law
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. court — of a king
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — a group
  19. court — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fan — to cool the air

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