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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. court — of law
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. clip — to cut
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. court — of a king
  11. field — a subject
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. court — for sport
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — the animal
  21. ball — a great time
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bulb — for light
  24. clip — a video

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