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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — farmland
  6. root — of a word
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rush — hurry
  9. shower — rain
  10. bore — to tire
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. shower — to wash
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — for sport
  22. root — of a plant
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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