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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fork — in a road
  7. shower — to wash
  8. band — a ring
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a music group
  21. stand — to bear
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. straw — dry grass

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