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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — for sport
  4. face — part of the head
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. face — to point toward
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a music group
  10. court — of law
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — of a king
  13. sharp — clever
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. face — to confront
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. perch — the fish
  18. hand — help

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