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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. court — of law
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cold — an illness
  5. court — for sport
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. land — a country
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to click
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of a king
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. tear — from crying
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. land — to come down
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. foot — a measure
  22. land — ground
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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