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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cap — of ice
  3. hand — help
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — in cards
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pop — to visit
  16. court — of a king
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — soda
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cap — a lid
  23. court — for sport
  24. pop — music

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