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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. vault — a safe
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. court — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ground — a position
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ground — the earth
  19. hand — in cards
  20. court — of law
  21. cue — for pool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. patient — a sick person

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