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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. court — for sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of a king
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — to rip
  10. season — of the year
  11. game — a match
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. squash — to crush
  17. game — wild animals
  18. squash — the sport
  19. dip — to sink
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — the tool
  23. season — in sport
  24. dip — to dunk

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