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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — money
  3. court — of law
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. tear — from crying
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. court — for sport
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — for pool
  12. season — in sport
  13. cue — a signal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — of a king
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. snap — to click
  22. tear — to rip
  23. capital — a city
  24. cue — a hint

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