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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 124 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · fan · tube · mine · fine · last · kick · court

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of a king
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tube — the underground
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — final
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. kick — in football
  24. fan — to cool the air

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