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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — money
  6. stock — goods
  7. pound — a weight
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. court — of law
  11. stock — shares
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of a king
  14. saw — the tool
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. tear — to rip
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. capital — a big letter

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