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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.

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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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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 · court · present · pitcher · last · pound · spring · firm

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. firm — decided
  9. court — of law
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. firm — a company
  13. tear — from crying
  14. present — there
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. firm — steady
  24. last — final

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