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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. court — for sport
  2. last — finally
  3. court — of a king
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pop — soda
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — of law
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pop — music
  17. last — to go on
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — final
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. dip — to sink
  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