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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pop — to visit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — to drop
  6. last — finally
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fall — to drop
  11. last — final
  12. tube — a container
  13. last — to go on
  14. hand — help
  15. court — of law
  16. tear — to rip
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — the season
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. arm — a part of something

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