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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. court — for sport
  3. pop — to visit
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. tear — to rip
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — soda
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — a box
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cap — a lid
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pop — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — of ice
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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