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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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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 · sharp · racket · chip · toast · court · rest · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rest — what's left
  6. toast — bread
  7. rest — a break
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — for sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. court — of a king
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chip — for betting

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