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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of a king
  7. wind — moving air
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. spell — magic
  15. rock — music
  16. mark — a grade
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rock — a stone
  20. pound — a weight
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. wind — moving air
  24. date — the fruit

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