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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 116 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. scale — size or range
  10. court — for sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. scale — in music
  15. spell — letters
  16. bear — the animal
  17. field — farmland
  18. kick — in football
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. craft — boats
  23. spell — a short time
  24. tear — from crying

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