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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — for sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — to handle
  12. court — of law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a tool
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. tube — a container
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — of a king

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