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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. court — of a king
  3. bark — to shout
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. club — a group
  7. court — of law
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. last — to go on
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — final
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fine — high quality
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. last — finally
  24. cap — a lid

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