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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. court — of law
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — a box
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bear — the animal
  9. date — the fruit
  10. shower — rain
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — steady
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. firm — decided
  17. court — of a king
  18. bear — the animal
  19. firm — a company
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tear — to rip
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chest — of your body

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