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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. court — for sport
  13. ground — a position
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wound — an injury
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. dip — to sink
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lie — an untruth

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