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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — of law
  3. race — the arms race
  4. court — of a king
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — a contest
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — a subject
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bore — to tire
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kick — in football
  14. race — humankind
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. tear — from crying
  19. field — for sport
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bore — to drill
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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