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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. spell — magic
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — letters
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. press — to push
  11. land — a country
  12. row — to paddle
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spell — a short time
  18. press — newspapers
  19. land — ground
  20. press — a publisher
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — a line
  23. bound — tied together
  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