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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of a king
  3. can — a tin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. march — the month
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — of law
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. can — to be able to
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. court — for sport
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — a trail
  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