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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tear — to rip
  3. spell — magic
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spell — letters
  14. court — of law
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — of a king
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bowl — a dish

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