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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. club — a group
  8. bank — for money
  9. lean — thin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bank — for money
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lean — to bend
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bank — of a river
  24. perch — for a bird

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