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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — wild animals
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pound — a weight
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — a match
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — rain
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — for sport

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