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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — the cause
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. root — of a word
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. root — of a plant
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kid — child
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. season — of the year
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of law

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