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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — government
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. last — finally
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — final
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rule — a law
  24. ground — crushed

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