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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. court — of law
  3. lie — to recline
  4. spell — a short time
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — the sport
  7. march — music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. perch — the fish
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — for sport
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spell — magic
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spell — letters
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — the month
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — the month
  24. wind — to turn a key

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