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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — for sport
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. last — final
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — in football
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. last — to go on
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. last — finally
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — the underground

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