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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a music group
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fine — high quality
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spring — of water
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. court — for sport
  12. cell — in biology
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — the fish
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a ring
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. spring — the season
  24. cell — a phone

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