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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tear — to rip
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitch — completely
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. ground — the earth
  11. court — for sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ground — a position
  20. spring — of water
  21. ground — crushed
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of law

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