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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the sport
  5. snap — to click
  6. court — for sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. object — an aim
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spell — a short time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tear — to rip
  14. object — a thing
  15. spell — magic
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. date — the fruit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. object — to protest
  22. court — of a king
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. spell — letters

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