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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rash — a series
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. court — for sport
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. prune — to trim
  22. drill — a practice
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — army training

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