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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — of water
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — help
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. tube — a container
  11. hand — in cards
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. perch — the fish
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. court — of law
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spring — the season
  19. tube — the underground
  20. band — a music group
  21. spring — a coil
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fine — all right
  24. court — for sport

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