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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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of a king
  4. face — to point toward
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. face — to confront
  7. season — of the year
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. court — for sport
  14. perch — the fish
  15. face — part of the head
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — in an idiom

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