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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. club — for dancing
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. court — for sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. club — for golf
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. court — of law
  17. perch — the fish
  18. club — a group
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a city
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. perch — for a bird

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