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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — for sport
  3. rest — a break
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. court — of a king
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rest — what's left
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. perch — the fish
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bear — the animal

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