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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. file — a line of people
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of a king
  8. spell — letters
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. file — a tool
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a document
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spell — magic
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. temple — a place of worship

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