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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bank — for money
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. court — of law
  17. bank — of a river
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bank — for money
  20. season — of the year
  21. march — music
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. season — in sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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