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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — help
  13. land — ground
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. land — a country
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — for digging
  22. land — to come down
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rash — on the 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