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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — for sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pit — in a race
  18. tear — from crying
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — money
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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