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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. row — to paddle
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — a subject
  22. mine — for digging
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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