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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 120 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. court — of a king
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — of law
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. firm — steady
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — in football
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. firm — decided
  17. stock — goods
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. firm — a company
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — a practice

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