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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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. tear — from crying
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. court — of law
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. drill — a practice
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. dip — to sink
  15. kick — in football
  16. court — of a king
  17. bulb — for light
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cap — a hat

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