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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of law
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. court — of a king
  8. sharp — clever
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ground — a position
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. spring — of water
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — the season
  23. tear — to rip
  24. scale — in music

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