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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — army training
  3. land — ground
  4. suit — clothes
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. clip — for paper
  19. tear — to rip
  20. suit — in cards
  21. land — a country
  22. pitch — completely
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. suit — to fit

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