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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 I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. ground — a position
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. court — of a king
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. ground — crushed
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. ground — the earth

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