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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. can — a tin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mark — a grade
  7. can — a tin
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — to come from
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. present — there
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mark — a trace
  17. court — for sport
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. perch — the fish
  22. present — the time now
  23. can — to be able to
  24. court — of law

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