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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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 — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — music
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. branch — a division
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — soda
  8. mark — a grade
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wake — a trail
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — for sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. pop — to visit
  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