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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — the animal
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. face — to confront
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bear — to put up with

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