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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. net — after costs
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. prune — to trim
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. drill — army training
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. net — for catching
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. court — of a king

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