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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 116 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — clothes
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bass — low music
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. firm — a company
  13. clip — a video
  14. court — of law
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — a country
  17. firm — decided
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. suit — to fit
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. firm — steady
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — to cut

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