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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mate — to breed
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — a partner
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mate — a friend
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. face — to confront
  19. court — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pop — soda
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. perch — the fish

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