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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. present — a gift
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wake — a trail
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mark — a trace
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. perch — the fish
  18. deal — to handle
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. present — the time now
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. present — there
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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