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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 116 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. net — in sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — to go on
  9. firm — steady
  10. last — final
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ground — a position
  15. branch — a division
  16. ground — crushed
  17. last — finally
  18. firm — decided
  19. court — of law
  20. dip — to sink
  21. firm — a company
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — to rip

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