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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — to rip
  10. court — of law
  11. game — a match
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. march — music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. march — the month
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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