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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. court — of a king
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. court — of law
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tear — to rip
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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