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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 124 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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — for sport
  5. clip — to cut
  6. spring — a coil
  7. court — of law
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of a king
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bank — for money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — the season

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