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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — a stone
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — to rip
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pitcher — a jug

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