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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mug — a face
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — an injury
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. shower — rain
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mug — a cup
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. court — of law
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. swing — in golf
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — music

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