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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. kid — to tease
  7. court — of law
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hand — help
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. court — of a king
  13. march — the month
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. object — to protest
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — a thing

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