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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 120 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ground — a position
  9. shower — rain
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — to rip
  16. shower — to wash
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. court — of a king
  24. hide — to keep secret

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