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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pop — soda
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pop — music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. club — a group
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — for golf
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. court — of a king
  23. field — for sport
  24. hide — animal skin

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