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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 120 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fall — to drop
  5. court — for sport
  6. sharp — clever
  7. can — to be able to
  8. court — of law
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — of a king
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rush — hurry
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a match
  20. can — a tin
  21. fall — the season
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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