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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. court — for sport
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. mug — a face
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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