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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — to go on
  11. field — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — for sport
  14. mug — a face
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mug — a cup
  17. last — final
  18. field — a subject
  19. mug — to rob
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. clip — a video
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — of law

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