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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. court — of law
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. firm — steady
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. court — of a king
  19. firm — a company
  20. court — for sport
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. firm — decided

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