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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of law
  3. cell — in biology
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — of a king
  13. cell — a phone
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. court — for sport
  19. track — a path
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. track — a song

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