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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. spring — the season
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tear — from crying
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — the fish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. game — wild animals
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spell — letters
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bass — the instrument

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