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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. court — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. track — a song
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. tear — from crying
  13. season — in sport
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cue — a hint
  16. stand — to bear
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tube — a container
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. season — of the year
  23. court — of law
  24. stand — on your feet

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