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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. court — of a king
  5. last — final
  6. content — the amount
  7. last — finally
  8. court — for sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. suit — clothes
  12. tear — from crying
  13. ball — a dance
  14. snap — to click
  15. suit — to fit
  16. content — happy
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tear — to rip
  19. court — of law
  20. suit — in cards
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ball — a great time
  24. drill — army training

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