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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of law
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mine — for digging
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. content — the amount
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. content — happy
  20. court — for sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cabinet — ministers

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