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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ball — a great time
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tube — a container
  9. toast — bread
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a dance
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. current — happening now
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — for sport
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — of water

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