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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tear — to rip
  9. present — there
  10. court — of law
  11. date — the fruit
  12. kid — child
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mine — for digging
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. court — of a king
  24. mine — an explosive

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