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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. ground — a position
  4. tube — a container
  5. court — of a king
  6. mug — a cup
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mug — a face
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mug — to rob
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ground — the earth
  13. drill — the tool
  14. sharp — clever
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. tube — the underground
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — for sport
  21. drill — army training
  22. court — of law
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ground — crushed

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