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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — for light
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cue — a signal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of law
  9. cue — a hint
  10. field — farmland
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a line
  16. mark — a trace
  17. content — happy
  18. field — for sport
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. court — of a king
  21. mark — a grade
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cue — for pool
  24. content — the amount

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