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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 120 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. court — of a king
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. field — farmland
  8. court — of law
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. court — for sport
  13. ground — crushed
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — a subject
  18. present — the time now
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. present — a gift
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — for sport
  24. wound — an injury

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