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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rock — music
  8. court — of law
  9. land — ground
  10. board — a committee
  11. court — of a king
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a hat
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ground — a position
  20. board — to get on
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — a break

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