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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. scale — in music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — of law
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a leader
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tear — to rip
  13. scale — size or range
  14. court — for sport
  15. dip — to sink
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. court — of a king
  21. march — music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — the month

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