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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a hat
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. court — of a king
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — to rip
  11. game — a match
  12. bear — the animal
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cap — of ice
  19. court — of law
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. swing — music
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cap — a lid

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