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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — to go on
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. current — electric
  6. bore — to tire
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a ring
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — to rip
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. last — final
  15. current — of water
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bore — to drill
  18. tear — from crying
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — a line
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. current — happening now
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. row — to paddle

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