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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — of law
  3. spell — letters
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. net — in sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. net — after costs
  13. swing — music
  14. court — for sport
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — to tease
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. swing — to play on
  22. net — for catching
  23. spell — magic
  24. ruler — a monarch

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