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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. net — in sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. court — for sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. current — electric
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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