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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — rain
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — for sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. tube — a container
  10. present — there
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — the time now
  23. court — of law
  24. present — a gift

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