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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. kid — child
  3. court — of law
  4. ground — a position
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wake — a trail
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tear — to rip
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. court — for sport

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