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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — a lid
  9. court — of law
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fork — in a road
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kid — child
  14. court — for sport
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kid — to tease
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cap — of ice
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — to eat with

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