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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. current — of water
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ball — a dance
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. current — happening now
  16. mark — a trace
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. court — of law
  24. mark — to pay attention

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