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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. court — of a king
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chip — for betting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chip — to eat
  16. season — in sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. court — for sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. season — of the year
  23. craft — boats
  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