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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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a dance
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. court — of a king
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rash — a series
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. court — for sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. rash — hasty
  16. shower — rain
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. pass — a permit
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pass — to succeed

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