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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — for sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. court — of a king
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tear — to rip
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — clever
  21. can — to be able to
  22. court — of law
  23. squash — to crush
  24. key — the most important part

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