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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. court — for sport
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. suit — in cards
  9. suit — clothes
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to sink
  16. shower — rain
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. field — farmland
  19. tear — to rip
  20. race — humankind
  21. suit — to fit
  22. court — of a king
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — a subject

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