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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 120 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. board — a committee
  4. court — of a king
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. rock — music
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. court — of law
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tear — to rip

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